Episode summary: What can ants tells us about whether something deserves to be popular? This is a question tackled in David Sumpter’s book – ‘The Ten Equations that Rule the World: And How You Can Use Them Too.’ He tells Tim Harford about some of the algorithms that you see in nature, and those harn...

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Episode summary: Life on Mars was released on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory album in 1971. Two years later it came out as a single in its own right. Famous for its exploration of disillusionment and alienation, there is no one single definitive story behind it. But that is perhaps the song’s beauty and t...

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Episode summary: David and Helen look at what’s changed - and what hasn’t - since we last spoke, from Brexit to Biden to Covid. Has the Brexit deal really given the UK a chance to do things differently? Do Democrat wins in the Georgia Senate races open up new possibilities for Biden? What is at stak...

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Episode summary: Michael Sandel teaches political philosophy at Harvard University. Known to BBC listeners as ‘The Public Philosopher’, Sandel’s books include Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? and What Money Can’t Buy, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages and sold over two mil...

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Episode summary: Dan Saladino tells the inside story of Nobel Peace Prize winners the World Food Programme. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

Episode summary: The night represents a slowing, quiet contemplation, autonomy, dreams … the dominion of rest. But Grind Culture tells us that our worth is in our productivity. The Nap Bishop is here to tell us, “No”. Rest is not a privilege, it’s a human right. Sleep deprivation is a social and rac...

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Episode summary: Automation wizard Adam Tow joins in this week to share the details of his new automation app, MFC Deck, and how Adam is automating his life.

Episode summary: Another recent talk by David on democracy: does it make sense to talk about fixing British democracy, and if so, how? David discusses electoral reform, institutional change and he returns to the question of votes for children. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio...

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Episode summary: Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss solar eclipses, some of life’s most extraordinary moments, when day becomes night and the stars come out before day returns either all too soon or not soon enough, depending on what you understand to be happening. In ancient China, for example, there...

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